This invention relates to a lever-type connector in which a force for fitting connectors together is lowered.
There is known a lever-type connector in which a force for fitting connectors together is lowered (see, Patent Document 1). In this lever-type connector 500, as shown in FIG. 10, a lever 507 of a gate-shape having an operating portion 503 and a pair of arm portions 505 is pivotally attached to a connector housing 501 in straddling relation thereto, and cam pins for being engaged respectively in cam grooves of the lever 507 are provided at a mating connector housing 509. The cam pins are engaged in the cam grooves, respectively, and in this condition the lever 507 is pivotally moved, and by a cam action achieved by the cam pins engaged in the respective cam grooves, the two connector housings 501 and 509 are drawn toward each other, and are properly fitted together. A notch portion 513 for avoiding connection wires 511 is formed in the lever 507, and with this construction the pivotal movement of the lever 507 will not be prevented by the connection wires 511.
In the conventional lever-type connector 500, however, the lever 507 prevents the insertion of terminals, and therefore it was necessary to ship the lever 507 separately from the connector housing 501. As a result, it was necessary to pack the lever 507 separately from the connector housing 501, and the amount of packing materials increased, and it is feared that the increased amount of packing materials may affect the environment. In addition, the lever 507 must be attached to the connector housing 501 after the insertion of the terminals into the connector housing 501, and therefore the efficiency of the assembling operation was lowered.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication Number 2008-108467 A